Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Kelsie May, 15, of Louisa, Ken., auditioned with Loretta Lynn’s “You’re Looking at Country.” She did a fine job, but was well into the performance before Blake Shelton turned around. Soon after, he was joined by Pharrell Williams and Christina Aguilera. Blake reminded Kelsie of all the former Voice singers he’s coached who are now on country radio. Kelsie decided to join Team Blake.

Her background: Just a sophomore in high school, Kelsie says singing has been a passion all her life, but she never really believed in herself. Her dad, Roy, says the family had a hard time getting Kelsie to come out of her shell and perform for others. The alternative: She started posting videos to YouTube. The response was “overwhelming,” Kelsie said, so she’s also started performing live over the past year. That includes performances to raise money for Make-A-Wish as a way to pay tribute to a good friend of hers who died of cancer. These days, Roy says folks call Kelsie “Little Loretta Lynn.”

What the show didn’t show: According to her website bio, after getting over her stage fright, Kelsie decided to enter a Country Music Highway Road to Fame competition in Kentucky, only to learn she was still too young. No problem, competition or not, the attempt led to her signing with PCG Nashville, an artist development company. She has since performed at the Renfroe Valley Entertainment Center in Kentucky and became a regular featured performance at the Highway 23 Museum in Paintsville. In fact, she released a single called “Highway 23” in 2013. It’s also included on a new four-track self-title EP Kelsie May just released. She also released a video for “Young Love,” another tune on the EP, which you can check out below. According to that website bio, Kelsie’s aspirations include performing at the Grand Ole Opry and, of course, singing a duet with Loretta Lynn. Oh, and you can add skydiving, though she still calls herself something of a “bookworm” in her Voice video.

On picking Blake: “I was hoping Blake would turn around. But Christina and Pharrell made some really valid points, so I was kind of leaning toward them as well. But I did choose Blake because I’m a country artist, and I feel like he has a lot of advice to give to me.”

On iTunes: Her audition song, her 2013 single “Highway 23” and her new self-titled EP.

Update: In the battle round, she was matched with Brenna Yaeger. They sang Reba McEntire’s “Fancy.” Blake declared Kelsie the winner; Brenna was eliminated from the competition. In the knockout round, she was pitted against fellow teen Brooke Adee. Kelsie May sang “Tim McGraw,” but was eliminated from the show when Blake declared Brooke the winner.

Website
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter: @KelsieMayMusic

Highway 23 (original, song starts at 4:22 mark)

“Down in the Garden” (original)

Young Love (original)